HOLLYWOOD - Okay, I'm ready for Caruso. No, the one that's still alive.

Y'know, Det. Kelly on NYPD Blue. Yeah, he showed his butt on TV. Yeah. That guy, the cop show guy.

Funny thing about him, he was a gang leader on Hill Street Blues, and a wiseguy on the TV pilot for Crime Story. Yeah, he's got anti-cop history.

By the way, bring his file when you bring him in for interrogation.

Have a seat. So what do we have here?

David Caruso, 39. Red hair. Often tilts head. Born in Queens, N.Y. Tough kid. Tough life. Got into acting by a fluke.

Worked off Broadway, then the movies: Almost drowned in An Officer And A Gentleman, almost shot Rambo in First Blood and did NYPD Blue-type cop before NYPD Blue in films like Mad Dog And Glory and King Of New York.

Understand you caused a big stink when you left TV Blue for the $1-million movie role of the tough guy in Barbet Schroeder's Kiss Of Death (opening Friday).

Says you play this hood used by the cops to bring down some mobsters runnin' a car-theft ring. It's that crook-caught-in-the-middle thing remade from the old Kiss Of Death. Uh-huh.

So here's the situation Caruso. You have been charged with first degree star-tripping. We can reduce that for you - maybe to a misdemeanor for ambitious acting. But ya gotta work with us. Ya gotta give us something. Let's start with the clowning around you were doing before you sat down here.

What was going on?

"It's okay, it was nothin'. I was just trying to get a laugh, showin' off, goin' for extra attention."

You need extra attention?

"Oh, boy. Not this year."

You mean not after the commotion around you leaving TV for the pictures?

"To be honest, some people decided to take that angle because they didn't do any homework. They were capitalizing on the moment to get ink."

And maybe some people felt betrayed when you left the TV show. Right?

"I like this version.

"All right, people became attached to the character, and they felt it was too soon. But I guess they have to realize I'm not the character, and I'm not the evil twin character they've been trying to pass off in the press."

So what are you saying?

"I could've stayed on NYPD Blue. They could've done a revolving door. They didn't want to."

But that didn't happen, so you did this Kiss Of Death movie stuff, playing this street punk car thief, like you knew one or something. What gives?

"When we were shooting Kiss in New York, an old friend of mine called up, and he offered to sell me an Elektra he'd just stolen. I'm not kidding around.

"I've lived on the other side of the coin. No question about it. It's scary when you're out there on your own. You find out you got nobody to call. They're not showing up.

"I know these guys. They play for keeps. If they smell fear on you, they will exploit it."

Did other old street pals haunt the Queens set of Kiss? Or were those crowds of screamers who showed up just no-name fans?

"Y'know, if you're not up for that deal, you can get real miserable. It also got a little scary in certain neighborhoods. I tried to explain to the studio. I said, `You guys need security.' And they said, `Oh yeah, security. We got security.' And they had one guy.

"It was nuts. There were people screaming and running after the car. It got dangerous. They got real security."

So cops on the set - did they treat you like a big shot, or what?

"No, I'm really proud that I apparently embody these police officers. I feel supportive. It's never been a problem. I believe in the cop that John Kelly was. There are a lot of cops like him. John Kelly would never get any ink because he's non-descript, but he does his job."

Some people say you could never get a speeding ticket, they love ya so much. True?

"Well, I never go over 55 but if did ... Look, I hear that. But it's never come up."

Have to ask. You a tough guy? You play one real good. But are you in real life. Do people want to try you?

"I'm such a pussy in real life. Most people can kick my ass. But when something happens to me, cooler heads prevail, so if I cannot respond in the moment, I may have a few options later on.

"And I have an attorney now."

Long way from skipping school in Queens.

"Yeah, I grew up in the Forest Hills area. I was a sensitive, well-balanced, educated student. Nah."

And, it says here, a theatre usher.

"Yeah, the Midway Movie Theatre on Queens Blvd., where The French Connection was playing. Saw it 80 or 90 times. A huge education. Actor? That was the last thing.

"But I met this woman, who was a show business manager, and I read this copy for her at her apartment. I'd never seen a script before. I read the scene. And she said, `if you're going to work for me you can't lie to me. You've done this before.' So my first acting job was making up all these fake credits."

So you became an actor, because why?

"Circumstances, and a desperate need to avoid getting a real job."

And did somebody really want you to change your hair color because they said red wouldn't make it?

"Constantly, or they would say, `Have you ever thought of a rinse?'"

So you never did. Acting jobs were hard to come by. So what else have you done?

"A whole lotta lyin'. And I was a loading platform guy, and delivery messenger in the city, which wasn't a bad job. I would pocket the cab fare and hitch rides on the back of subway trains. Y'know what was cool about that job, you got to see a part of New York that you never see, the behind the scenes. You were always going into the service entrance, so you got to see the truth."

And now - how do you enter?

"Oh yeah, I still have to hang around with the truth. I don't get hooked by the illusion. This is a business. It takes a while for you to figure that out, but it's a business, very calculated. Everything happens by design, but I'm glad I was seduced by it."

But what happens when you get screwed over by it?

"I have to get to a common place of acceptance and get on with my life."

Sounds grown up.

"I haven't reached that stage yet, but that's what they tell me."

Okay. Tell you what. We'll drop the star-tripping charge, and put you on personality probation. And Caruso, be careful out there. We'll be in touch.


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